On the optimality of IRS-user association for rank-1 channel conditions

This paper deals with the optimization of intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) in a cellular communication scenario where only the signal reflected from the IRSs allows the connectivity between base station and users. It considers a particularly simple configuration, IRS-user association, where each IRS steers the reflected signal toward a given user. For the particular case of two users and two IRSs, optimality conditions for such configuration are found. More-over, simulation results in realistic conditions show that IRS-user association is optimal with high probability.